Protected-third-rail electric-railway system.



,PATENTED MAY 23, 1905.

H. -A. 'THOMSBN. 1 PROTECTED THIRD RAIL ELECTRIC RAILWAY SYSTEM.

v ur'monzo'nrnnn .2113. 12.1004.

- ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES Patented May 23, 1905.

PATENT OEEicE.

HENRY A. THOMSEN, OF NEW YORK. N. Y.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 790,538, dated May 23, 1905.

Application filed February 12, 1904:- Serial No. 193,255.

To all whom it may concern:

ways, wherein a charged or live conductorrail is arranged in substantially the same horizontal plane as the track. The employment of a live conductor-rail in the described position exposes the railway employees and the public .to the danger of receiving an electrical shock by accidental contact with said rail, fatalities due to such shocks being of frequent occurrence on elevated and underground railway systems. In addition to this danger to human life the charged rail is exposed to the weather and during storms and unfavorable atmospheric conditions the rail becomes coated with ice and'snow, thus resulting in im-- perfect contact of the collector-shoe with the rail and the consequent formation of a short circuit, which results in electric flashes and sometimes setsfire to the car or the track. I seek to overcome these objections by the provision of means for housing the charged rail, so as to keep it from contact accidentally by human beings and to protect it from inclement weather. With the inclosed rail is associated a simple form of collector-shoe which is carried by a car-truck in a position to make contact with the live rail through a slot in the housing.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear in-the course of the subjoined description, and the actual scope of the invention will be defined by the annexed claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which like characters of reference are used to indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of a track of an electric railway having my means 'struction. which are coextensive in length to the conductor-rail. except possibly at the switches for protecting the conductor-rail. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section showing the means for protecting the conductor-rail and the relation of the collector-shoe to such rail and the housing therefor. Fig. 3 is a View illustrating the means for electrically insulating the adjacent lengths or sections of the rail-housing. Fig.4: is a detailed longitudinal section through the rail-housing at the insulated joint between adjacent lengths or sections of said housing.

A designates an ordinary railway-track of an electric railway, and B is the conductorrail, which is adapted to be charged with electrical energy, so as to become what is commonly known as a live rail. Said rail is fastened and supported in any usual or ap proved way on the track at one side of the rails thereof and preferably in a slightly-raised position for access by the collector-shoe, presently described. The conductor-rail is usuually made solid and continuous alongside of the track; but at switches, crossings, and the end portions of-the trackthe conductor-rail is in lengths and isbeveledor inclined at its end portions, one point of such bevel or inclination being indicated at b in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

Instead of allowing the conductor-rail to remain exposed to access by persons walking along the track and to the inclemencies of the weather I cover this rail by a simple and inexpensive form of housing which,for the sake of durability and economy, is of metallic con- This housing consists of two parts and crossings of the'track, one part of said housing being in the form of a hood 5 and the other part being embodied as a vertical plate 6. The hood 5 is arched transversely at its upper part or top side,while the lower part may be vertical,or approximately so, said hood being made of 'metalas, for example, of sheet metal, which may be readily bent to the required shape, thus providing for the manufacture of the hood from the sheet both rapidly and cheaply. The lower part of the hood is provided with or attached to a suitable number of chairs 7, which are suitably constructed, said chairs being fastened at intervals to the track-ties by spikes or other contrivances. The member 6 of the housing is also provided with chairs 8, adapted to be similarly fastened to the ties; but it is evident that the two parts of the housing may be fastened to the ties by any suitable means. The plate-housing member 6 is arranged close to one side of the conductor-rail, and its upper edge terminates a short distance below the top face of the rail. The hood-like housing member 5 is arranged to overhang the rail, and these two parts 5 6 occupy such relation to each other as to afford a bottomless housing for the rail and to produce a horizontal slot 9 between the adjacent edges of said parts. Said slot extends continuously of the housing, and it is located on the side thereof next to the track, said slot being in the plane of the top face of the rail B. The hoodlike member 5 and the plate member f the housing are each made in suitable lengths or sections, each section being from twenty to fifty feet long,more or less. The sections or lengths of the hood-like member 5 are constructed at their adjacent ends in a way to secure an overlapping joint, which providesfor the accommodation of a suitable insulating material in order to electrically insulate the adjacent sections one from the other and to prevent the metallic housing from becoming, in effect, a charged rail in the event of a short circuit being formed between the housing, the collector-shoe, and the conductor-rail. As shown, one section of the housing is recessed at 11 on its inner side, while the next section is recessed on its outer side at 11, and the two sections are brought together to produce a lap-joint. The lapping ends of the sections provide for the reception of the insulation 12, which may be of rubber or any other known material, thus electrically insulating the lengths or sections of the hoodshaped member of the housing. The member 6 of the housing is also made in sections which are electrically insulated. 'The two members of the housing inclose the rail, so as to prevent a person from treading on the live rail, the arched hood overcomes the lodgment of snow and ice on the housing to any appreciable extent, and the open lower side or bottomless part of the housing allows free drainage of water, so as to overcome snbmergenee of the rail and the consequent loss of energy from said rail; The housing also excludes snow and sleet from the rail, and should a short circuit be formed only one section of the housing can become charged, because the charged section is insulated from adjacent sections, thus increasing the safety of the appliance and minimizing the danger of electrical shock to persons who may be compelled under certain contingencies to walk along the track.

A car-truck is indicated in a conventional way at O in the drawings, and on this truck is placed means for mounting the collector-shoe D, the latter being represented as a broad flat plate having a flange d at its inner edge. The shoe is mounted on the car-truck to occupy a horizontal position, and itis arranged to travel in the slot of the housing to ride upon the rail. The current passes through the shoe and through suitable conductors to the motor in the usual way for utilization by the motor in propelling the ear and for other purposes.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. In an electric railway, a conductor-rail housing having a hood-shaped metallic member made in lengths or sections, said lengths having lapping relation at their contiguous end portions, and the joints of said lengths or sections being insulated electrically.

2. In an electric railway, a conductor-rail housing made in lengths or sections arranged to lap each other at their contiguous ends, whereby a weather-tight joint is secured, said lengths being insulated electrically from each other.

3. In an electric railway, a conductor-rail housing comprising hood-shaped lengths or sections arranged to lap one another at their end portions, and insulation material within the lapping portions of said lengths or sections.

4. In an electric railway, a conductor-rail housing comprising hood-shaped lengths or sections, one of which has a projection atone end, and the other a recess adapted to receive the projection and thereby produce a lapping joint between the sections.

In testimony whereof have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HENRY A. 'lllOh ISEN.

WVitnesses:

TILLIAM H. MnY-un, HERMAN l. BnnnnNs. 

